To my knowledge there are very few books that have been written on UFO sightings over Russian form British authors so it was a great pleasure to be given this book to review. Like most British UFOlogists, I was aware as we all are that Russian too has been touched by the UFO presence and has probably seen more UFO sightings than any other country. This book, dot's the I's and crosses the T's Big Style. It is an enormously researched book which comprises on all you need to know about UFO sightings over Russian from the very early day's right through to present day.

The authors have put a lot of work into this book segmenting their case work into specific easy to find chapters. Of course writing a book of this nature does rely heavily (for both authors) on the information coming through their Russian counterparts and both Philip and Paul have had to rely on their many Russian contacts in their little black diary. Sceptics may question the reliability of UFO information coming through from their Russian counterparts, is it reliable, could it not have been better researched, how do we know for sure that the information imparted is truly factual? Well I'll tell you this if even a tiny fraction of this book is real in the sense that all the reports happened as reported, then boy we really do have a UFO presence to ponder.

The authors themselves do accept the above, they also are well aware that quite a fair percent of these Russian UFO sightings may well be down to secret Russia Military rocket tests. However, there is enough meaty cases in this book which go way beyond what would appear to be any rocket tests that certainly made me sit up. For me though what makes this book a cracker is definitely the KGB Files of UFO & USO (Unidentifiable Submersible Objects) Then there are the specific regions of Russian which hold mysterious areas where strange things happen. Let us take a quick look at some of the interesting bits of the book that I come across whilst doing this review.

The Tunguska event of 1908 is carefully looked at and quite a diverse series of explanations are pondered over. Whatever it was, it surely was the biggest event of its kind in the world. But was it a flying saucer or something more mundane? As I say a wide variety of explanations are looked at. Leonid Kulik who was one of the main researchers who actually visited the Tunguska event and we learn about his expedition and the problems they faced. We also learn that in the autumn of 1944 a Soviet Yak-40 aircraft flew over the area of the Tunguska event where its instruments failed and the plane crashed. What could be an early example of animal mutilation occurred in the 1860's (reported in the 1950's) A man witnessed humanoid 'beings' standing next to a cow which had its belly slit open. They seemed quite curious at the stomach of the cow; could this be Russia's if not the world's first reported animal mutilation? Well if we believe in this report then maybe so.

The book moves onto the early years of UFO reports over Russia and we learn that under Stalin's brutal regime, the occult and paranormal related subjects were all banned (although surprisingly Stalin himself had an interest in such matters, so what was the crack there!) There was little if any material on UFOs and the paranormal during Stalin's reign, it wasn't until many years later that Russian citizens started to learn what was in their skies wasn't all their own technology!

A quite incredible tale of a chest which contained drawings of orbital stations, hangers for spaceships etc, was found in Kiev in 1953 what was going on here? Then there was the Petrozavodsk phenomenon of 1977 where a strange pulsating luminance fell on Karelia. Windows in houses melted loads of UFO reports were reported in the area, all this and much more occurred in this Russian town. Most people will have heard about Chernobyl and the terrible nuclear accident that occurred there, what some people might not know is that this area has a high concentration of UFO reports.

Probably one of the more stranger things that I found in this book was what the authors refer to as anomalous zones where weird things happen. Take for instance the Dalnegorsk crash. Three years after the crash of a strange object in this area, we learn that insects avoided the place; people's bodies were affected in a whole manner of ways. The area also affected mechanical and electrical equipment. Again I ask, was it a UFO/Flying Saucer of something from the Russia Air force?

One of the biggest UFO cases that I was aware of coming from Russia was the Voronezh Incident where not only UFOs were sighted, but strange creatures as well! Yet another strange anomalous area where strange things happen, is the M Triangle and the authors go to great lengths to tell us all about it, believe me, this is really really bizarre.

There is so much info in this book that I seriously cannot get it all into this review. The authors look at strange explosions, UFO window areas, Buried UFOs (The Tallin Object) another BIG chapter is the one on UFOs over Soviet Nuclear Installations, wow what an amazing chapter that is. Triangular UFOs are also discussed as are Soviet Military encounters with UFOs. Again, what an important chapter that is. UFOs over Soviet battlefields are also discussed. MIG jets chasing UFOs are also looked at. God you're not short of some amazing UFO Incidents in this book.

Another belter of a chapter was the one on USO's (Unidentified submersible objects) this chapter contains some amazing cases most of whom were witnessed by high standing academic people. Then there were the Soviet nuclear submarines who encountered strange sounds which they couldn't account for. Soviet Naval observers of UFOs are mentioned and several tales by them are looked at.

Yet another classic chapter was the one on the KGB and its UFO Files, again, what can I say? This chapter really shows us that there clearly is something strange going on. As if the book couldn't get any better, IT DOES. Soviet Cosmonauts and 'their' UFO sightings are looked at, and just like the American astronauts, their Russian counterparts have also seen their fair share of UFOs. Russian astronomers and their UFO sightings are looked at, again these astronomers know their skies and yet what they have seen defies explanation. The authors put together a chapter on some of Russia's UFOlogists and we see how busy they have been over the years in trying to find out the truth as to what is in their skies.

At the end of the day, there is no denying that this book will be a classic in the annals of world UFOlogy, I say this because when you read this book you soon discover that it contains a mountain of research, the ground it covers is extensive. These are not wily nilly wee lights in the sky, the vast majority of these cases are complex, they are above nuclear installations, and they have been followed by MIG jets and a whole lot more. Russia as we know is a massive country there are undoubtedly thousands of UFO reports that we will probably never know as they may not have been recorded. Thankfully UFOlogy in Russia has grown extensively over the years, those Stalin years are well behind them and people are not frightened any more to report these strange aerial devices.

Yes a fair percent of these UFO reports may well be down to secret Russian Military/Air Force testing of prototype devices, that goes without saying, but when all is said and done, this wonderful book will show you that the sheer volume of UFO reports in Russia is simply incredible. One thing's for sure, when you finish this book your scepticism (if you had any in the first place) will surely have gone, such is the masterful research by both authors in providing us with a book that is destined to be a classic.